Rotary engine



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 N. M. LOWER ROTARY ENGINE Filed Sept. '7, 1923 Oct. l, 1929.

'0t.1, 1929. y NMLOWER I 1,729,951

ROTARY ENGINE Filed Sept. 7, 1923 5 sheets-sheet 2 Oct. l, 1929. N. M. Lowl-:R

ROTARYENGINE s 'sheets-sheet 3 Filed Sept. 7, 1923 Patented Oct. 1, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CORPORATION OF DELAWARE `NATHAN M. LOWER, oE PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNoE, EY MESNE AS- SrGNMENTs, To THE STANDARD SToxEn ROTARY ENGINE Application iled September 7, 1923. Serial No. 661,370.

This invention relates to motors, and more particularly to the type in which a rotor is employed, having pressure blades associated therewith. I

One of the objects of the invention is the production of new and improved mechanism for utilizing the expansive force of a fluid to .l maintain the pressure blades in fluid-tight contact with the walls of the casing on the intake side of the motor during the operation of the device.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means whereby fluid pressure may be utilized for forcing the pressure blades outwardly during the rotation of the rotor at low speeds, together with means for automatically closing the ports leading to the ends of the blades when thespeed of the motor has increased to such an extent that centrifugal force will cause suIicient pressu`re between the blades and the casing to prevent escape of the motive fluid at the ends of said blades during the operation of the motor.

Other and` further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the engine;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, the section of t-he casing being taken along the inletl and exhaust slots 31 and 32,;

Fig. 4 is a portion of the View shown in Fig. 3,'somewhat enlarged;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on line 6 6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail Showing a section of the power shaft with the parts asy sembled therein, with parts broken away;

Figs. 8 and 9 are vertical sections of a portion of the casing as viewed in opposite directions from the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective of a detail showing one end of the shaft 18 and parts associated therewith.

On the drawings, the reference character as by means of suitable yand cylindrical member, the

l0 designates a casing which may comprise the side plates 11 and 12 and the cylindrical member 13 clamped between said sideplates bolts 14. In order to form a fluid-proof joint between said plates provided on their adjacent sides with curved ribs or lugs 15 and 16 which are adapted to telescope within the ends of the cylindrical member 13 when the parts are assembled. These lugs are Wider at one portion than at another, whereby recesses 17 are formed eccentric to the cylindrical member 13 for the reception of the wear plates of the rotor as Will presently appear.

A power shaft 18 is eccentrically mounted in the casing 10 in any suitable manner. vAs shown, the shaft 18 1s mounted in suitable anti-friction bearings 19 carried by the hubs 20 and 21 of the casing.

Keyed to the eccentrically mounted shaft 18 and adapted to rotate within the casing 10 is a rotor 22. The rotor engages the casing at one pointv only, as at the top thereby forming a crescent shaped chamber 23 between the rotor and the said casing. v

The rotor is provided with radial slots 24 which extend inwardly from the periphery of the rotor leaving an unslotted central or hub portion 25. Pressure blades 26 are slidably mounted in these slots. The sides of the slots may be closed by the wear plates 27 which are adapted to be secured to the ends of the rotor in any suitable manner. When the partsare assembled the wear lates engage in the recesses 17 formedby t and 16 in the plates 11 and 12.

Suitable inlet and exhaust ports are provided for permitting the entrance of the motive fluid to operate on the exposed sides of the outer ends of the pressure blades in the chamber 23 to rotate the rotor and to permit the exhaust of said fluid when its work has been accomplished. Any suitable ports .may be provided for this purpose. As shown the cylindrical member 13 is provided with COMPANY INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A

plates may be chambers 28 and 29 at opposite sides of the' casing. The ort 31, leading from the intake chamber 28, 1s in the form of a short slot as shown in Fig. 8, while the slot y32l for the exhaust may be considerably extended, as shown in Fin. 9. This arrangement permits the fluid at t le intake side of the motor to act expansively and permits a free discharge of the fluid at the exhaust side of the motor. The slots are arranged diagonally in order that the wear on the ends of the pressure blades 26 shall be evenly distributed.

In the operation of the motor, when a blade 26 passes the lower end 33 of the slot 31 on the intake side of the motor the motive fluid acts directly on said blade to force the same downwardly until the next blade passes the lower end of the slot after which the e11- trapped Huid acts expansively to continue the downward movement. of said blade.

It is necessary, especially at low speeds and during the starting period, that means be provided for forcingL the blades outwardly.

against the casing on the intake side of the motor. In order to reduce friction to a minimum and to simplify the construction it is desirable that fluid pressure be employed for this purpose instead of cams and the like as is common in such constructions. One form of mechanism for accomplishing this function is illustrated in the drawings and will now be described.

The power shaft 18 is provided with a bore 18a in one end thereofl and in this bore is mounted a fixed pipe or conduit 34 having its inner end closed and provided with fixed parallel collars 35 and 36 spaced apart as shown in Fig. 7, to form a channel about the inner end of the conduit. Webs 37 and 38 divide this channel into an intake chamber 39 and an exhaust chamber 40. A sleeve valve 41 provided with inlet and exhaust ports 42 and 43 is non-rotatably but slidably mounted on the pipe or conduit 34 for controlling the supply of steam or other fluid to the inner ends of the blades as will presently appear.

The hub portion 25 of the rotor is provided with openings 44 which at their outer ends communicate with the slots 24 and at their inner ends register with corresponding openings or ports 45 in the hollow portion of the power shaft 18. The pipe or conduit 34 is provided with an inlet port 46'through which steam or other fluid under pressure may pass into the intake chamber 39 and from thence through the port 42, openings 45 and 44 into the slots 24 in rear of the pressure blades 26 to force the same outwardly against the interior of the intake side of the cylindrical Y member 13.

- through the port 43 into the chamber 40 and from thence through openings 47 (see Figs. 5

and 7) in the collar 35 and through openings 48 in the valve 41 into the space surrounding the pipe 34. From this space the Huid passes into the atmosphere through suitable recesses 49 in the bushing 50 (see Figs. 2 and 6).

When the motor reaches a certain speed the centrifugal force will move the blades outwardly with sufficient pressure to prevent leakage of the motive Huid without the aid of additional means for this purpose and without affecting the speed of the motor. At speeds above this any additional pressure for forcing the blades against the casing will detract from the efliciency.of the engine. For this reason suitable means are provided for automatically closing the intake port 46 when the motor reaches a predetermined speed. Any suitable means such as a centrifugal governor ma be employed for this purpose. As shown, t e valve 41 extends outwardly beyond the casing and is provided with a groove 51 in which pins 52 carried by the bifurcated ends of one of the bell crank levers 53 are adapted to engage. These pins also engage slots in the inner ends of the other bell crank lever, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The levers 53 are pivoted to oppositely extending projections 54 carried by the end of the power shaft 18. The free ends of the levers are provided with balls 55 which are adapted to be thrown outwardly by centrifugal force against the tension of springs 56 as is usual in such constructions.

In the operation of the device, the rotation of the shaft will cause the balls 55 to swing outwardly and move the sleeve or valve 41 ax` ially outwardly and thus close the port 42. The exhaust port 43 is considerably wider than the intake port 42 and consequently the exhaust port remains open at all times.

Suitable oiling systems 57 and 58 are employed in connection with the intake pipes 280 and 34 for lubricating the rotor, blades and the like, but since these are of the usual or well known type, it is not thought necessary to describe the same in detail.

Glands 59 or other suitable packing may be employed to prevent the escape of the motive fluid into the rotor bearings. The inner wall of the side plates 11 and 12 may be provided with grooves 60 having outlet ports 61 for conducting the motive fiuid, escaping between the rotor and the plates, from the motor.

While the motor is adapted to operate with steam as a motive fluid it is understood that any suitable fluid may be employed for Ioperating the same.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a cylindrical casing, a rotor eccentrically mounted in said casing and provided with slots, blades slidably mounted in said slots, a port in said casing for admitting an expansive iuid into said casing for operating against the side faces of said blades for rotating said rotor, means independent of said port extending axially of said rotor for admitting an expansive fluid to operate against the inner ends of said blades to force the same outwardly into engagement with said casing during the time pressure is being applied to their side faces, and means for automatically controlling the passage of said fluid through said means ndependently of the passage of fluid through therein, radial pressure blades slidably carried bythe rotor and engageable with the cylindrical wall of the casing, means for applying .fluid pressure to thev faces of the blades, means1 independent of said firstnamed means for applying fluid pressure to the inner ends of said blades in an outward radial direction, and means for independently and automatically cutting ofi the supply of said fluid to said blades.

4. In combination, a casing, a rotor eccentrically mounted within said casing, pressure blades slidably mounted in said rotorfor rotating the same, including fluid pressure for forcing said blades outwardly against said casing while passing through a certain zone in -their rotation, andcmeans for rendering said fluid pressure ineffective for movingsaid in said shaft and provided with ports for applying a fluid under pressure to the ends of said blades on the intake side of said casing, means including a sleeve slidably mounted on said conduit and having ports therein for exhausting said fluid from the opposite side of said casing, and a centrifugal governor for automatically adjusting said sleeve.

7 In combination, a casing, a shaft rotatably mounted in said casing, a rotor mounted on said shaft and provided with radial slots, blades in said slots, means for applying pressure to the sides of said blades, a stationary conduit extending into said shaft, a port associated with said shaft and in communication' with said conduit, and adapted to communicate with said slots during the rotation of said rotor, a valve for said port and a centrifugal governor mechanism for moving said valve for controlling the opening, and closing of said port.

8. In a motor, a casing, al rotor rotatably mounted in said casing, said rotor provided with slots therein, pressure blades slidably mounted in said slots, and adapted to engage said casing, and means for introducing a fluid under pressure through the periphery of said casing for applying fluid pressure to the side faces of said blades, means for introducing a fluid under pressure into the interior of said casing for applying fluid pressure to the inner ends of said blades during a portion only of the rotation of said rotor, and means for automatically controlling said last-named means.

NATHAN M. LOWER.

blades while the same are passing through another zone in their rotation, said means comprising an axial passage in the axis 0f said rotor, said passage being provided with inlet and exhaust ports, and means for automatically opening and closing said ports.

5. In combination, a casing provided with diagonally arranged intake and exhaust ports, a rotor mounted in said casing and provided with slots, blades slidably mounted in' said slots, means for utilizing a motive fluid for rotating said rotor and for forcing said blades outward against said `casing on the intake side of said casing, and means for automatically controlling the amount of said fluid utilized to force said blades outwardly,

independently of the amount of said flu1d utilized for rotating said rotor.

6. In combination, a casing, a shaft eccentrically mounted in said casing and adapted to rotate therein; a rotor secured to said shaft, and provided with slots, blades slidably mounted in said slots, means for alpplying a motive fluid to the sides of said b ades, means .inde endent of said first-named means and inclu ing a stationary conduit 'located 

